A/N: Here is the second installment of the story. Please read and review.

I've also had questions concerning Naruto's power, where he's at right now, is right around where Natsu was during the S-Class exam. His whole going into Dragon Force was his body's reaction to Laxus' transformation, and its acclimation to his newfound powers. As it stands, he's probably tied with Erza at the beginning of the series power-wise, but he's nowhere near Gildarts' level.

Chapter 2

All That Remains

It had been a week since Naruto joined Fairy Tail. He was fitting in swimmingly. His best friends in the guild were Mirajane and Cana. He had the opportunity to meet a lot of the members in the guild, yet he hadn't met everyone. There were still a lot of people out on jobs. And unfortunately for him, Laxus still hadn't come back so that he could kick his ass. Mira and Cana had suggested that he let it go, but he was too stubborn to dream of doing something like that. It went against his code of honor. It was plain as day in his code: kick punk-asses asses. Especially move-stealing punk-asses.

It was around nine in the morning when Naruto emerged from the guild's showers. He slipped back into the same clothing that he had gotten from Porlyusica. They were comfy, however, it was starting to wear on him that he still hadn't gotten any new clothes since he arrived, or gone on any missions. Perhaps today would be the day to take a job and get some money for clothes and to start paying back his tab. He wandered up the stairs from the basement where the showers were located. He walked over to the request board to see if anything caught his eye. He started reading over the requests, eyeing some of the bigger rewards, yet not taking any of them. He happened to glance at a mission with a small reward, yet had a destination that was close to where the cave where he was raised and trained in was. He reached out to take it, only to grasp it at the same time as a smaller, petite hand did. He looked over and saw someone else he considered his friend, petite, little Levy McGarden. Her attire was composed of a yellow bikini top with a green vest that enhanced her small bust along with a pair of capri pants and a pair of sneakers. Her hair was pulled back away from her face with a yellow ribbon. The little bluenette and he had hit it off after talking with her over a book that she was reading.

"Oh! Naruto, I didn't see you," she said as she let go of the paper and Naruto pulled it off the board. "I see you wanted an easy job to do as well. Oh well, you can have it."

"Wait, Levy," Naruto said quickly before she could walk away, "you can have it," he extended his hand out to her.

The small woman shook her head violently, "No, no, no! I couldn't! You got it first, I'll just find something else," she released a sigh, "even if I have to take those two idiots along with me."

"What's wrong with Jet and Droy?" Naruto asked perplexed.

"They're being insufferable! They've been wanting to go on harder and harder missions, but I'm not that physically strong, and I can't fight like they can. I'm best suited for mental jobs," Levy commented to the taller blonde. "I figured I would take an easy, solo job just to get away from them for a day or so."

Naruto nodded his head in understanding. He looked back down at the piece of paper, before looking back at her, "You wanna come along? I only wanted to take this one since it was close to where I needed to go. You can even have all of the pay, what do you say?"

Levy's eyes widened as her hands started waving erratically in the air in front of her, "Uh, th-that's okay, I don't need the money! But I'll come keep you company!"

Naruto just shook his head at her. She was such a funny one, very cute and quirky. He and Levy then made their way to the bar where Mira was standing. He waited to see if she was going to attack him like she did every day since the one time that he purred. Every day, without fail, she would grab him around his shoulders, holding him to her chest and then proceed to try and get him to purr by softly stroking his cheek. And every day, without fail, he would let out a purr. And that would start a fight with another friend that Naruto had made, Mirajane's brother, Elfman. Despite his assurance that he wasn't putting the moves on his sister, Elfman would still get protective of her and they would end up brawling across the floor. Of course, Naruto would end up victorious. He might've been outmatched in size and weight, but he more than made up for it in sheer strength and speed. Despite his slender size, he was a body of hard, defined, chorded muscles. Elfman came to respect the smaller blonde after Naruto had overpowered him and put him into a submission hold. It was definitely the most unique way he had made a friend.

As Naruto approached Mira, he was wary and on guard. He knew she was going to strike, he just didn't know when. Watching her closely for any sudden movements, he held out the job request before him to her. She smiled at him and accepted the job request.

"This seems like too easy of one for someone of your power, Naruto," she remarked before setting it down on the counter before her.

"Well, it's on the way to where I want to go, so I figured I would knock two birds out with one stone. Besides, Levy wanted to do an easy one, and we both reached for this one, so we'll keep each other company on the trek," he said, still giving her the stink eye.

Mira turned to Levy, seeing her for the first time, and smiled, "Ah, I see. Need a break from your team?"

Levy's shoulders slumped and she let out an exhausted sigh, "Ugh, you have no idea."

Mira giggled before reaching down beneath the counter top, her sudden movement caused Naruto to flinch and jump backwards a couple feet. This just made Mira and Levy stare at him in confusion. The blonde's face flushed before pointing an accusing finger at Mira, "Don't you act like you don't know why I did that!"

Mira only smiled serenely at him, "I have no idea what you mean." This caused Levy to giggle at Naruto's antics, which only served to make him blush even more.

Mira just reached down and brought up the ledger used to mark down which jobs were currently underway and who was taking it. She then reached down and retrieved a small piece of paper. The only thing written on it was a single address, she extended it out to Naruto who walked up and took it. "Just go there, the client will give you the delivery that he wants made, then you're off!" she said with a smile.

Naruto just looked down at the address in his hands, before slowly turning around, "Okay, we'll see you tomorrow evening then."

"Oh, and Naruto?" Mira called, stopping him from taking a step, his eyes widened in horror as to what was about to happen. Her arms lashed out, grabbing him firmly, before pulling him back into her soft chest, and rubbing her cheek against his, which despite all his effort, still caused him to purr loudly, attracting the attention of Elfman.

"Oi!" wrestling Mira's arm off his shoulders, he grabbed Levy around the waist as he bolted through the doors of Fairy Tail.

"Kyaaaaaah!" came Levy's frightened scream as Naruto moved at high speed to avoid the inevitable brawl that would break out between him and Elfman.

It hadn't taken long to get the package that they had to deliver to a small hamlet in the country, so after six hours of walking, Levy and Naruto were making pretty good time. They would stop and rest for about five to ten minutes every hour, but at the pace they were going, Naruto knew that they would make it to the hamlet just before nightfall. That would give them plenty of time to find a place to bed for the night, then in the morning they could make their way to the cave in which Naruto had lived for twelve years of his life.

"So, after we drop this off, where is it that we're going to be going?" Levy asked the blonde Dragon Slayer. Naruto smiled back at the little blue-haired woman.

"It's the cave in which I was raised and trained in my Dragon Slayer techniques."

"What're we going to find there?" Levy questioned.

"Dunno," Naruto answered truthfully. "Well, there'll be a ton of things: a lot of gold and jewelry, precious stones, magical weapons, books, and maybe even some artifacts."

"Books?" Levy asked with a gleam in her eye at this. "Do you know what kind of books?"

Naruto thought for a few minutes, "All I can remember is that they're very old and rare. Other than that, nothing." He could practically see the excitement exuding off of her. "Also, since I don't think he'll be back for a long time, you can go ahead and take any of them that you might want."

Her face lit up with such intensity, that it almost blinded him, "Really?! Any book that I want? What if I want all of them?"

Naruto just chuckled, "Take as many of them as you want. They should be in pretty good condition. The air in there is always warm and dry, so they shouldn't have any mold, mildew, or water damage."

"Stop teasing me with the thought of these books! It's not fair, we'll get to them tomorrow morning," Levy commanded as the taller blonde chuckled at her fidgeting.

The rest of their journey continued on rather quickly, the entire time was spent just chatting about all that the other could come up with, and before either of them knew it, they had reached their first destination. Naruto pulled out the package from the backpack that he borrowed from the guild and held it in his hand as they passed into the store where the client was.

Inside, they were greeted by a magic shop. It was small, but there were quite a number of interesting things for sale. Behind a glass counter was a very old man. He was bald, had a deeply wrinkled old face, he had a gnarled walking cane and a hunch in his back. He was dressed in muted colors, almost like he was a fixture in here himself.

"Oh, visitors, we don't get many of you up here. Please feel free to look around," his voice was very soft and gravelly.

"Actually, we're here on business," Naruto said, noticing that Levy had already gone and was browsing the books on the shelves on one entire wall. "We're mages of Fairy Tail, and we were contracted to bring you a package."

The old man's eyebrows rose a little bit, "A package… Ah yes, you must mean from my son. Do bring it here, lad."

Naruto walked up to the old man and handed him the small package. With old, calloused hands he started to tear off the brown wrapping on the outside of the package. After getting it open, the box lid was easily disposed of, exposing the contents within. One was a small recording lacrima, probably with only enough space to record a short movie message. The other was a small envelope that was enclosed. Naruto watched as he pumped a little bit of magic power into the lacrima, neither was surprised when a three dimensional image was displayed of a man with grayed hair, that Naruto recognized as the man who placed the job order. Naruto then turned his head away, not wanting to intrude on the old man's private business.

"Hi dad," the image said. "We're sending this to you, with good news and bad news. The bad news is that this year, we won't be able to make it up to visit you. Business has been a little slow, and sadly, we had to dip into the vacation fund. But we'll try and get up there to visit you as soon as we can. But anyway, here's the good news," he turned and looked somewhere away, when he turned back around, there was a baby in his arms, and the old man gasped and a tear escaped his eye. "Guess what! You're a GREAT-grandpa now!" the baby in his arms cooed and giggled at something out of the visual range of lacrima. "Yep, this is baby Ryder, named after his great-grandpa. You have Josh to thank for that."

They both watched as the baby was handed off to someone off screen, and the man turned back to the old man. "I bet you're wondering why I sent the package with some mages instead of just mailing it to you. Well, in that envelope are some of my research notes. I think that I may have finally found 'it'," this caused the old man's eyes to widen. "I don't think that they're safe here, so I'm sending them to you so far out of the way it would be the last place anyone would look. We'll come pick them up when we come and visit next."

Then, the lacrima went dark, its time having been spent. Naruto tried to make it not too obvious that he had heard everything. He continued to pretend to be interested in what he was looking at on the shelves, yet his mind was already coming up with wild things that this mysterious 'it' could be. Whatever it was, it must have been important to the old man, seeing as how he visibly reacted when it was mentioned. Naruto really wanted to ask what 'it' was, but knew better. Damn, it was tearing him up not knowing things. He hated not knowing.

"I'm sorry for the wait," the old man called to the two mages. Both of the Fairy Tail mages smiled at him, letting him know that it wasn't a problem. "Please, for bringing me great news like this, pick out anything in the store. Free of charge!"

Naruto started waving his hands in front of his body protesting, "We couldn't possibly do that! I mean, we didn't even know what we were delivering. We were just doing what we were contracted to."

"We wouldn't feel right taking something that supports your livelihood," Levy added her two cents, not feeling right taking something for free.

"Nonsense, consider it the recipient's part of the mission payment," the old man smiled at the two. The two shared a look before Naruto just offered the girl a shrug. He then proceeded to browse the wares, looking at anything and everything. He walked up to the display counter, silently looking. His eye was caught by a silver ring with a clear stone, maybe a lacrima, set into it. It was simple, and didn't look too expensive.

"I'll take that ring," Naruto proclaimed pointing at it. The old man reached into the case and pulled out the simple ring.

"A magic-storing ring? You sure that's all you want?" the old man looked confused at the blonde Dragon Slayer. Naruto only smiled and nodded at the man. He just shrugged, "Okay, then."

Naruto put the small ring on and started pouring magic into the ring. He kept pouring, not noticing any sort of sign that the ring was getting full. "Why isn't it getting full? It's only a small ring, it shouldn't hold that much energy."

"It's been reinforced with runes, making the lacrima hold many times more than just a single spell's worth of magic. It will glow a color that reflects your magic when it's full," the old man informed Naruto. Naruto returned to the task of fueling the magic ring with renewed vigor. The amount that he was flowing into the ring was enough to make it start to spark due to his lightning nature. Finally, after nearly a minute later and a good chunk of his supply down, the gem started to glow electric blue giving off a fairly bright light. With a smile he turned to Levy to show her his new ring, only to see her with a stack of books in her arms and a sad frown on her face.

"I haven't read these yet, and I can't choose," Levy's soft voice carried over her cargo. Naruto's only reaction was to sweat drop at her plight. He then just shook his head in disbelief at her antics before going to see if she wanted his assistance.

The next morning found the two Fairy Tail mages waking in the early morning light, in a small clearing in the woods. The two had spent too long in the magic shop the evening before, and the only place that would rent out a room had closed up for the night, forcing the pair to make camp, and have a nice meal of some rabbits that Naruto had hunted up. Levy had apologized, but Naruto had waved her off saying that he preferred to sleep outside, it was how he had done it the last six years. After a refreshing breakfast of some wild berries that hadn't been seen the night before, the two continued on their journey to the cave that was only about an hour out from where they were. Levy's excitement was easily spotted. Despite her staying up so late that she fell asleep reading, she was super excited for the treasures that waited for them ahead.

Having arrived at Naruto's destination, he called a halt to the walking. Levy looked around in excitement. Her sentiment quickly changed to confusion, "I don't see any cave…"

"Of course not. Would it be a secret dragon's hoard if it was easily seen?" Naruto asked while walking up to a huge boulder. He walked to the left-hand side of it, and placed both of his arms against the stone. His muscles noticeably bulged and strained as with a cry of exertion, he started to push the boulder out of the way. Levy watched in stunned silence at the display. It would take an amazing amount of strength to move the boulder, and it showed just how physically strong the blonde was.

"Just how strong are you?" Levy asked in awe at his physical prowess.

Naruto just chuckled and rubbed the back of his head, "Well, strong enough to move that, evidently. But to answer your question, I'm not quite sure."

"That's taking not knowing your own strength to a whole new level," Levy sighed.

"Never mind that," Naruto said. "Let's head inside."

Levy nodded, following the blonde with a smile of anticipation. Stepping through the doorway into the blackness of the cave didn't do her first impression justice. It was only when Naruto started throwing lightning bolts all over the place that it started to be seen. Each bolt hit a different lacrima, thus lighting the entirety of the cave in a bright blue-white glow. It was then that Levy's eyes widened in wonder and amazement. The cave was hundreds of feet across, and who knew how deep. That wasn't what was so impressive. It was the small mountain of gold, silver, jewels, weapons, antiques, and so many other things that couldn't be named that stared at her.

"So, this is the place that I called home for twelve years of my life. What do you think?" Naruto asked his small companion. He saw her jaw go slack at the amount of stuff that was in the cave. "It's not really that impressive…"

"Are you kidding?!" Levy screamed up into his face, having to get up on her tip toes to even be able to do that. "With all this you could buy an entire country! And still have enough to pay everyone in it! You could be a king with this!"

Naruto scratched his head and gave an awkward smile, "Yeah, but I don't need much to live on. Just enough for a roof over my head, food in my belly, and maybe a little bit left over for a few trinkets and baubles. I'm a simple kind of man, it doesn't take much to keep me happy. Nothing in the world beats a few drinks with good friends."

Levy just stared at the young man in awe. It made her happy to hear that, knowing that some people were just that humble and genuine made her day. She walked up to Naruto and wrapped her arms around his waist in a hug, and leaned her head against his chest. "You're a really good guy, you know that, Naruto?"

Naruto slowly returned the hug, "Uh, thanks, Levy. You're not so bad yourself," he replied awkwardly.

Levy released him from the hug and gave him a bright, beaming smile, "So, where're those books at?"

Naruto jerked his left thumb to the right, "There's a small antechamber over there," he punctuated it with another toss of a lightning bolt that zoomed through the air, before banking around a corner, culminating in the same blue-white light coming from the room. He watched Levy squeal before darting off to the new light source. She rounded the corner, and her footsteps came to an abrupt halt, a soft gasp could be heard by Naruto through the door way.

"Holy cow! Look at them all!" came her soft voice, only really loudly. It brought a smile to the blonde's face to hear that. It always made him feel good when his friends were happy. He then proceeded to turn to the horde in front of him and let out a small chuckle.

"Well, master… You move your ass of old, you lose your gold," he smirked before hanging his head in exasperation. "You taught me many things, but the art of poetry was not one of them."

He then took off the backpack before walking up to the pile and started shoving handfuls of random coins into it. When it was about half full, he paused, looking at it. "Hmmm…" then he continued shoveling more in, finally stopping when it was three-quarters full. Nodding in satisfaction, he closed up the pack before testing the weight of the bag. It weighed around thirty kilograms, yet didn't feel that way to him. He was more worried about the bottom bursting or the shoulder straps snapping. He looked around the chamber, his eyes landing on a rather comical sight. Levy had donned a backpack, and that backpack was several pounds heavier than it had been. The evidence was clear by the very boxy shape: it was jam-packed full of books. That wasn't the funny part though, the funny part was that it was hard for the petite woman to stand; the weight of the books was too much for her. Naruto couldn't help it, a snort escaped his nose, trying to hold in his laughter. Of course, this caused the bluenette to narrow her eyes at Naruto.

"It's your fault for telling me you had no limits on how many books that I could have!" she shouted at him. Her eyes widened in surprise as the weight of the backpack counter-balanced her, dragging her back to the ground, which wasn't very far on the arc that it traveled. Her feet remained planted on the ground, yet she was staring at the ceiling of the cave. Now, Naruto wasn't holding in his laughter. The sight was way too much for the blonde.

"Oh man! That's too funny!" he crowed as he gasped for breath.

"Yes, yes, very funny. Now come here and help me!" Levy cried in frustration.

Naruto made his way over to the downed girl, and grabbed the top handle of the pack, pulling it, and the petite woman to the correct, upright position. He looked at the girl, then at the bag, and then back to Levy, and it was like a light went off in his head, "Hey, slip out of that pack for a minute. I got an idea."

Levy did as he asked, and slipped the straps from her shoulders and turned to face him as he set his own pack and hers to the ground. "What's your plan?"

"Well, you said that you specialize in Solid Script magic, but you also know runes, right?" he asked, getting a nod in response. "I had this technique that I was practicing, that's how I fell from the sky, see?" he asked again. Without getting a response, he started to jump up a stalagmite until he reached the top of it. "I was actually trying to use it to fly, but I still have to tweak it a bit. Right now, it only lets me glide," and with that, he leapt from the stalagmite, his arms were surrounded in blue electricity, and it slowed his descent to the ground a good bit. So much so that he was able to maneuver around a few stalactites and eventually drop to the ground next to Levy, who was in awe at his newly revealed technique. "So, I figured, maybe you can make a containment rune or something, and then I could charge it with my Static Thrusters and we could travel comfortably, without the weight of the bags to distract us."

Levy thought about it for a moment before posing a question to Naruto, "But won't it put a drain on your reserves?"

"Nah, it's so minimal that I don't even feel it," Naruto responded, assuaging her worries.

"Then, yeah, I should be able to do it," she replied as she rifled through a couple books that were in a small satchel that she carried on her, pulling out one on runes, along with a few sheets of paper and a quill that never ran out of ink. "This might take some time, I'm nowhere near the level of runemaster as Freed. I'm also nowhere near as elegant with my runes as he is."

"Take all the time you need," Naruto smiled at the energetic woman.

It took longer than expected for Levy to actually make the containment runes, and it took even more time allowing Naruto to charge them with his Static Thrusters, but it was worth it, because now their packs weighed a fraction of their original weight. They had lost three hours for the comfort of travel, and neither could complain. After replacing the boulder back over the entrance to the den, Naruto had suggested that they should head back towards the town that they had delivered the package to. Naruto had seen a shop and was looking to get some different clothes. The return trip was interrupted by Naruto stopping Levy after only forty minutes of walking. He took a deep whiff of the air around him, before his eyes widened. "Smoke. There's been a fire! Let's hurry."

With that, he scooped Levy up in his arms, having removed her bag, and slinging it alongside his on his shoulder. He charged his legs with his lightning and they shot off at incredible speeds. What would have taken them around another half hour of walking, took only three minutes. The cause of the smoke was evident. The small shop that they he'd delivered their package to was just smoldering, blackened beams and wall studs. Just about everyone in the hamlet and the surrounding area was there. They were all stunned, seeing the destruction of one of their own businesses. He walked up to one of the nearest people, clapping his hand on his shoulder to get his attention.

"Who are you? What do you want?" the man asked in confusion.

"We're Fairy Tail mages, we just delivered a package to the owner of that shop, is he okay?" Naruto asked, concerned.

The man just jerked his thumb over his shoulder at a tent. "He's in there, but I don't know how much longer he'll make it. It's impressive that a man his age was able to take down a couple of his attackers. They're in there too."

"Thank you," Naruto nodded to the man. He glanced at Levy, seeing her shocked and sad expression. It was clear that she hadn't experienced the atrocities of man very often. "You might not want to come with me into the tent. We don't know what we'll find, and it might be pretty gruesome."

Levy just nodded and shook her pack off her shoulders, setting it on the ground next to the entrance of the tent, next to Naruto's. "I'll just watch our stuff and see if I can't find anything out from the other townspeople."

Naruto nodded and entered the tent. The smell of burnt skin and hair was overpowering. It was one of the times that his enhanced senses were doing him in. It took a second for his eyes to adjust to the lower lighting. Inside, there were four beds. Three were covered in white sheets, hiding the bodies that lay beneath them. The fourth bed had a group of people around it, one evidently the town doctor, judging by the bag he was closing up, and his blood-stained clothes. Naruto walked up to the man, talking in a soft tone. "I'm Naruto Namikaze, mage of Fairy Tail. My guildmate and I just delivered a package to the old man at the shop yesterday. Can you tell me what happened?"

The doctor look at Naruto with a tired expression. "From the reports, a group of five people attacked the magic shop. They say that they heard shouting from inside, and the sounds of things being broken, before screams. Then, after a few minutes, two people walked out, and one of them set the place on fire, leaving all inside to be consumed by the flames. What they didn't expect was the response to the event, the fires were doused pretty quickly, and everyone inside was pulled out. Only the owner survived."

"Is he going to be alright?" Naruto asked.

His response was a shake of the head, "He's still clinging to life, but I don't know for how much longer. He inhaled hot ash, his lungs are failing quickly. He also lost his left arm, and burns cover seventy percent of his body. It's amazing that he is still alive."

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise at the hell the old man was put through. He glanced around the doctor to the shopkeeper. He was covered in bandages, and it was obvious he was in pain. He walked past the doctor, and stood at the old man's bed side. The old man's eyes widened, feeling Naruto's magical presence next to him.

"It's… you," he said, his voice was hoarse, and soft.

"Yeah, it's me," Naruto informed him, seeing that both of his eyes were unseeing, having been blinded in the attack. He saw the man gesturing for him to lean in closer, so Naruto did. He was surprised when his bandaged arm shot up, and grabbed the collar of his shirt, pulling his ear next to his mouth.

"Th-they're after… it," his voice was strained, due to the overwhelming pain he was in. "Th-the… the… It must be… protected. They… need to be… stopped. At all costs." After saying this, he started hacking, his grip letting Naruto escape his dry, heaving gasps. He then started speaking again, "Te-tell my-my family… Te-tell them… Tell them…" and like that he was gone.

Naruto stood back up to his full height. He looked down at the old man, his unseeing eyes, wide, a look of fear present in them. He placed his hand over them, sliding them shut, and making him look like he was at peace. Naruto knew that he wouldn't be until he found those that were responsible for the attack, and made them pay and found whatever 'it' was. It must have been powerful, seeing as it drove people to kill for it.

"Reports! I need reports," Naruto called out to everyone in the tent, which included the doctor and two women who looked like they were with the doctor.

"On what?" the doctor asked with a frown.

"Everyone on the beds," Naruto said, pulling the sheets from the three bodies that occupied the other ones. His eyes flashed over the other three bodies in the room. Taking in all of their injuries, that he could see.

"The first one dead, was this one," the doctor said, pointing at the bed right next to the old man's. "We believe that Ryder-san was the one that struck the killing blow to this one. He has this impact of a spell," he said, pointing to his chest, which was caved in, "Ryder-san was one to mix spells with physical attacks, so it seems that he caused this man's chest to cave in. He died rather slowly due to asphyxiation from punctured lungs."

"This one was the next to die," one of the women informed Naruto, pointing at the next bed. "He put up a fight, judging by the defensive blows, as well as the skinned knuckles. His hands are a perfect match to some of the wounds inflicted upon Ryder-san. But, it seems that Ryder- san was able to retaliate, his sternum was shattered, and his heart was ejected from a blow that caused it to become a projectile. It hasn't been recovered," she finished for Naruto.

"Now it becomes a little hazy, it seems that this last man was not killed by Ryder-san," the second woman turned to Naruto. "The only physical defect that resembles anything of Ryder-san's is his shattered knee. It's hard to tell from the burned tissue, but it was bruised and moves freely in any direction. This person was not walking away from the attack."

The doctor cleared his throat before continuing, "It seems that after that last attack of Ryder-san's, he was incapacitated. It wasn't long after he was incapacitated that he lost his arm."

"Was that recovered?" Naruto asked with a frown, his mind processing all the information he had been given so far.

The doctor nodded, "It was in pieces. Not all the fingers were accounted for. His other hand's fingers were all broken, as well as the forearm. Whoever did it, showed no hesitation. It was deliberate and meant to cause immense pain."

"A sadist," Naruto's eyes narrowed. His eyes locked on the third corpse of the attackers. "I think the same man who did that to the old man is also the one who inflicted those lacerations on this one. A punishment? Or was it a lesson?"

"I can't say anything of the person's mental state," the doctor informed Naruto.

"These, wounds, his being a sadist, what does that tell me," Naruto mumbled to himself. His mind was racing a mile a minute, yet couldn't come up with what he was missing.

"They were also all branded with the same symbol," the second woman with the doctor told Naruto, showing him what it looked like. It looked like a rat's skull with what looked like stiletto blades as the front teeth.

"Thank you," Naruto told the three medical people. With a final glance at the old man, he exited the tent. He found Levy nowhere in sight. It was okay because it gave him time to think. He was missing a piece of the puzzle. What was missing? The cuts seemed to be deliberate. Each one was precise, inflicting the most pain. He was also the one who broke the old man's arm and fingers. He didn't even know the purpose of them, by the time that those injuries were inflicted, his other arm was already gone, they probably already had what they wanted. So why did he do that?

It hit Naruto like a ton of bricks, "He was proud of his work. That means he would want to see it again. He's still here!" his eyes flew across the background, looking at people who were watching the tent intently. No, he would be able to see inside. He would have a vantage point to see into one of the tent's windows. His eyes flew to the surrounding trees. He was here, and he was up in one of them, and when he found him, he would-

"Found you," Naruto whispered, eyes landing on the man in question. He was tall, his hair was white, long on the left side, and shaved on the right side of his head. His clothes were all black, with leather straps criss-crossing his chest. On his back was a weapon. A sword. As Naruto spent time analyzing him, it seemed the man had caught Naruto's scrutiny of him and decided to bolt for it by jumping to the ground. "Oh no you don't!" the blonde roared as lightning surged into his legs. With a mighty push, he was running towards his target. Without warning, Naruto lashed out with a left haymaker as he reached his target. The target in question reacted by spinning out of Naruto's reach, the arcing sparks of his Gigawatt Blade making his hair raise to follow the hand. Digging his feet into the ground, Naruto slid a few feet before rounding out, and facing the fleeing mage in question.

The odd man gave Naruto a creepy grin, noting the hatred brewing within Naruto's eyes. "My, my… What do we have here? A little legal guild lackey, perhaps?"

"Damn straight," Naruto confirmed, standing in a ready stance, his feet spaced apart evenly, his knees bent in a reflexive stance, his arms hung at his sides, blue electricity surging through them, his fingers twitching in anticipation.

"Oh my, what could a legal guild want with someone like me?" the man questioned, bringing his left hand up and brushing the hair from in front of his face away, only to have it fall back where it was.

Naruto's eyes narrowed, "Don't play that bullshit game. You know why. What reason did you have?"

"I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about," he responded coyly, his eyes opening a bit, and Naruto seeing their pink color.

"Stop playing games!" Naruto commanded, a surge of electricity crackling off of him. "Why would you attack an old man like that? What do you have to gain from torturing him? And your own comrade as well!"

The man's eyes closed again, and a prideful grin stretched across his face, "You like my handiwork?"

"I'm tired of playing your games! Tell me who you are, and where your base is located, dark guild roach," Naruto hurled the insult at the man. He noticed that he was receiving a look from the man now, no emotion was displayed however.

"Roach, you say?"

Naruto smirked, noticing he hit a chord in the man, "You heard right. You dark guilds are all like roaches. You scurry around in the dark, spreading your disease and filth, only until someone turns on the light and you flee back to the hole that you came from."

Naruto watched as the man reached behind his back and pulled off the sword. It was an odd blade. There was no guard, and it tapered dramatically, yet was all uniform in its shrinking along its length, which was easily four and a half feet. There were many nicks and dings as well as scratches along the blade. It was also rusted in spots, showing that it was used much and cared for little. On the end he could see the fresh-dried blood of his latest victims. He raised the sword so that it was perpendicular to his body and he was pointing it at Naruto. "Why don't you see if you can beat me, little light mage? Then I'll tell you all that you want to know."

"It would please me to no end," Naruto growled. His arms, still crackling, he sprang forward, swinging his right fist at the mage. The sword-wielder moved to slash at Naruto, only to have his eyes widen as Naruto suddenly appeared within his guard, his fist impacting into the swordsman's chest. The dark mage backpedaled lessening the force of the blow, yet getting a shock from Naruto anyway. The man in black rolled to his left, bringing his sword arm to bear on Naruto, who ducked out of the way and rolled to his left. As he completed his roll, he launched a bolt of lightning at the mage, which struck him in the elbow of his right arm.

"Agh!" the swordsman cried out as his arm spasmed and he dropped his sword. His swung low and back around to his right, catching his sword just before it hit the ground with his left hand. Both fighters stared at each other for a moment before both exploded into motion. It seemed that the man in black was significantly better with his left hand, as his movements were more precise and executed at a faster pace than before. Naruto was able to dance around all of his strikes, but they were quick enough that he wasn't able to retaliate. "What's the matter, light-boy? Does this roach have you on your laurels like the dog you are?!"

Naruto went to dodge another swipe of the sword when his left foot slipped and he lost his traction, "Shit!"

"Die!" the swordsman screamed as he capitalized on Naruto's off balance stance and unpreparedness to unleash a powerful strike. What he didn't expect was for Naruto to lash out with his fist and bat the blade out of the way with the back of his hand, and simultaneously hurl a glowing orb of electricity at the slender man's chest where it stuck. The orb detonated in a brilliant explosion of electricity, the shockwave of which sent both combatants tumbling away from each other.

Naruto ended up tumbling across the dirt, before connecting with a tree rather harshly, that knocked the air from his lungs for a minute, but he received no damage from his own attack. The black-dressed swordsman was a different story, the detonation had blown up on him, sending untold volts through his system, his muscles were in spasms, while his motor skills were temporarily hampered. He lay on the ground groaning, his chest covered in electrical burns, and his upper body was now exposed, the explosion having shredded his clothing. Both were on the ground trying to recover faster than their opponent.

As it so happened, Naruto recovered a second before the swordsman, allowing him to pounce upon the still struggling dark mage. With his opponent restrained beneath him, Naruto unleashed his fury at the man below him. With fists crackling with lightning, he landed blow after blow to the dark mage's face, each eliciting a cry of pain. After a few good, solid hits, he planted his hands on his shoulders and sent a current of electricity through the dark mage's body. The action elicited a pained yell from the man, but it was cut short as Naruto stopped.

"'You like my handiwork?'" Naruto questioned, mocking his earlier question. It was then that he noticed that his opponent had tears at the corners of his eyes, and it dawned on him, "So you can dish out the pain, but you can't take your own medicine?"

Naruto punctuated his question with another burst of electrical current through the man's body. This caused him to scream out in pain and more tears to fall from his eyes. Naruto looked on, disgusted at the man before him. He hated the fact that he was doing the same action that he performed on the innocent old man as well as his own subordinate.

"You take pride in torturing the weak and wounded, yet when someone comes along to put you in your place you become a sniveling, shell of a human being," Naruto stated.

The white-haired man sniffled and tried to talk through his tears, "P-please, st-st-stooooop."

"Did the old man beg you? How about your subordinate? Why should I show you the same mercy that you didn't show them?" his magic started to flare, when a soft voice caught his attention.

"Because you're better than he is," Levy replied to his question, coming up behind him. Her gaze was hard, yet Naruto could tell that she felt pity for the small, broken man held captive by Naruto. "If you continue, then you're no better than he is. As a member of Fairy Tail, we need to set an example. We need to follow the laws and rules."

Naruto looked at her expression, then turned back to the man pinned below him. He sneered, watching as he gasped and wheezed as he tried to stop his crying. "You're gonna tell me all that I want to know, or else I'll continue, got it?" it was an empty threat, yet the sadist didn't know that. Seeing the man's nod, Naruto started his questioning, "What guild are you from?"

"Demon's Tongue," he answered truthfully, fearful of Naruto's wrath.

"Why did you attack the old man?"

"We heard that he was receiving a package with research containing a powerful artifact," here he had to breathe a few times, he still recovering from his breakdown. "We wanted the location so we could get it for ourselves."

"What is this artifact?"

"It's a book. A powerful one. One that in the right hands can inspire the masses, cause the fall of cities, topple governments, and bring about the destruction of all that we know."

"Why does Demon's Tongue want it?" Naruto asked, a frown marring his face.

"We don't. Tartarus does."

Levy gasped at hearing the name, causing Naruto to turn a questioning gaze on her, "You familiar with that name?"

"Yeah, they're one of the three most powerful dark guilds around. They're considered the strongest of the Balam Alliance," Levy answered Naruto's question.

He turned back to his captive, "Why would Tartarus send Demon's Tongue to do its dirty work?"

"Demon's Tongue is a guild allied with the Balam Alliance. One of Tartarus's main guys came to us with this job. It seems they think it wasn't worth their resources, so they outsourced it to us," the black-clad man replied, finally having his breathing under control.

"One last question," Naruto told the man. "Where can I find Demon's Tongue?"

"They're about five miles to the North-Northwest. The others of my party went on without me, they've probably already reached the hideout and are planning a rendezvous with Tartarus," the swordsman responded. He watched as Naruto processed the information. "I've answered all that you've wanted. Will you let me go?"

Naruto looked back at him, his eyes narrowing in contempt, "No. We're going to tie you up and alert the Rune Knights to you. Then I'm gonna have them come after me, after I've wiped the floor with your dark guild."

With that, he knocked the man unconscious. Naruto then stood up, and grabbed the collar of the unconscious member of Demon's Tongue, and turned to Levy, who looked shaken, having heard all of the information that was relayed. "What are we going to do, Naruto? We can't let them get that book. It could spell disaster for the world."

"We won't," Naruto stated with finality, his eyes conveying the conviction behind his words. "Let's get this guy back to the town so that we can get the Rune Knights here, and we can set off after Demon's Tongue."

Both Fairy Tail mages turned and headed back towards town, dragging their prisoner with them. Levy was the one to break the silence, "We should alert Master Makarov before we head out, he'll want to know what we're up to. He might not even want us to do this. I mean, we're only two members against an entire guild, and one of us isn't that great at fighting."

Naruto turned to Levy, looking at her downtrodden expression. He could see her uncertainty and her unease at the possibility of having to fight. It finally sunk in that she was really not a fighter. This made Naruto frown. Despite his wanting to believe that his comrades could fend for themselves, he was being forced to accept the fact that some of his guild mates were not combat-compatible. Levy just so happened to be one of them. While her heart was in the right place, her mindset wasn't that of a warrior's. "I have to stop them, Levy-chan," Naruto told her. "I can't let them get any closer than they are to the book. If it falls into their hands, it will be very bad."

The small bluenette gazed up at him with a worried expression, "But what will you do once you confront them? The only ones in the guild that could take an entire dark guild on by themselves are Erza, Laxus, Mystogan, and Gildarts. They're all away at the moment. You need reinforcements."

"We don't have time, Levy-chan. By the time anyone got here, we'd be so far behind that we might as well consider the mission failed. If they rendezvous with Tartarus, then that's it. I can't give in that easy. If there are people that need protecting, then that's where I'll be," Naruto said, turning to face the town as they entered the town proper. They gained astounded looks as they pulled their catch through town. Naruto turned to the nearest citizen, voicing his question. "Where's the nearest outpost of Rune Knights?"

"About an hour away, but they just arrived after we sent our reports to them about the attack; they're over by the burnt-out magic shop, doing their own investigation."

Naruto nodded his thanks, and took the dark mage to where the townsperson said the law would be. It was hard not to spot the Rune Knights. They stood out like a lit candle in a dark room, their armor gleaming in the sunlight. One of them noticed Naruto and Levy's approach, signaling to his superior officer of the happening. The man who looked like he was in charge turned toward Naruto, before barking out his orders.

"Halt! This is a crime scene. Identify yourself," he commanded with force in his voice.

Naruto and Levy both stopped, the smaller of the two looking a bit frightened of their presence, "I'm Naruto Namikaze, and this is Levy McGarden, we're Fairy Tail mages, and we happened upon the scene like you did; only I was able to apprehend one of the attackers."

The Knights looked stunned at this information. The commanding officer strode forward, motioning to two of his men to take Naruto's captive. "You have my thanks, friend," the leader said. "I'm Captain Rex of Rune Knight Division Twelve. Were you able to gain any information of what happened?"

Naruto then proceeded to tell him what had transpired since he and Levy had arrived. The captain of the squad looked grim as Naruto informed him of what the dark guild was after. "This is troubling. Sergeant! Contact headquarters at once! We're going to need reinforcements," he barked out to his squad. Turning back to face Naruto, he offered his thanks. "We'll take it from here. Once our reinforcements arrive, we'll head out and confront Demon's Tongue and the agent of Tartarus."

"With all due respect, I think that's a shitty idea," Naruto remarked, causing the captain to shoot him a glare. "By the time your reinforcements get here, they'll be gone. Let me go ahead, I'll vanguard it, and I won't let Tartarus get their hands on the information."

Captain Rex sighed and rubbed his head. "Very well. But if you die, it's on your shoulders, not mine."

Naruto nodded in agreement, before glancing back to Levy. He turned to face the captain once again, "Could you get my friend a communication lacrima? We should really tell our guild what is going on."

The captain nodded, motioning for another soldier to do as requested. Naruto then turned to Levy, her trepidation was very palpable. "Levy, I'm gonna go on ahead. We can't let them get away."

Levy looked worried at the idea, "But, Naruto, this is only one man against an entire dark guild."

"I know. I'll be alright," Naruto smiled at the petite woman. Levy didn't look so convinced.

"What if something bad happens and you're hurt and all alone in the dark guild? You'll be hurt and beaten, or worse!" tears were beginning to gather in the corners of her eyes. "We can't lose any more members!"

Levy's eyes widened as she felt two powerful arms encircle her small frame. She turned her head to the side and her cheek came to rest against Naruto's powerful chest. She felt him gently stroke the back of her head, calming her. "I know you're scared. I know that the thought of your friends getting hurt scares you to death. But that won't happen. I'll come back just fine. You have to trust me."

Levy felt calmer at his words, and nodded her head against his chest. He slowly let her go and held her shoulders at arms' length. There were still tears in her eyes, and some tear tracks on her cheeks, yet she looked to be getting better. She raked the back of her arm across her eyes, wiping her tears away, "You promise that you'll come back? That we won't lose you?"

Naruto flashed her a soft smile. "I promise. I'll go on ahead, you stay here and contact Master Makarov. See if he can get anyone to come out here. Hopefully they'll be faster than the Rune Knights."

Levy nodded and watched as Naruto stepped away, nodding at the captain. The captain nodded his head at Naruto. The blonde then turned, as lightning sprang to life around his being and faster than anyone around could follow, Naruto disappeared in a flash of blue. Levy bowed her head, before taking the communication lacrima from the returned knight. "Be careful, Naruto."

A/N: So, this was supposed to be out weeks ago. However, I got shifted to twelve-hour nights, and no way to write during these times. Now, I'm back on regular hours, and I should be able to update sooner like I had planned.

Drop me a review, if you'd please. Also, more meaningful reviews are more helpful than others. I'll do a better job at replying to them this time than I was last time, so any questions that you would like answered and won't give away the entire plot of my arcs or future happenings, please send them in.

Regards,

AtheistBear